28 February 2022
Women in Marketing (WIM) CIC is pleased to announce the Women in Marketing Africa (WiM Africa) network in partnership with the Unstereotype Alliance South Africa Chapter and Google, launches the Real Talk Series. A series of open and frank conversations with women - senior professionals, industry leaders and business owners - on what it has taken to get to and stay at the top of their game.
The Tech Edition of the Real Talk series will take place on the 8th March at 2pm SAST. In line with the Unstereotype Alliance IWD theme - driving a sustainable future through representation and visibility – there will be a panel discussion addressing the importance of representation and visibility in male dominated industries, looking at the lived experiences and challenges faced by women in tech marketing.
The conversation will be moderated by Dr Stacie CC Graham, Programme Director for Global Racial Equity, WPP. The panel includes:
- Ifeoma Jibunoh-Dozie - CMO, Liquid Intelligent Technologies
- Asha Patel - Head of B2B Marketing SSA & Head of Marketing South Africa, Google
- Victoria Henry - Head of Group Marketing and Fractional CMO, Alphawave Group
It is well documented that since the beginning of time women have faced challenges in being seen and treated as equals to their male counterparts. The effects of the COVID-19 global pandemic have in some ways worsened the situation and new challenges have arisen:
A widening gender pay gap: the impact of the pandemic has increased the gender gap by a generation from 99.5 years to 135.6 years due to a number of factors, not least including the burden of childcare continuing to fall disproportionately on women (World Economic Forum).
Lack of sponsorship: Women who stepped out of the workforce or had reduced work hours during the pandemic may have trouble getting back on track in their careers, increasing demand for sponsors. While some companies are experiencing an increase in unfilled leadership positions – would-be sponsors (CMO Council).
Burnout for women is on the rise: Women are even more burned out now than they were a year ago, and burnout is escalating much faster among women than among men (McKinsey Women in the Workplace 2021).
Women are rising as stronger leaders, but their work is going unrecognised: Compared with men in similar positions, women managers are taking more consistent action to promote employee well-being. They are also twice as likely to spend significant time on DEI work that falls outside their formal job responsibilities. Less than 25% of companies are recognizing this work to a substantial extent in formal evaluations like performance reviews (McKinsey).
This series of conversations aims to allow women to share their experiences of the challenges they have faced and in doing so help others. The discussions cover career progression; balancing work and home life; the impact of the global pandemic; the hard decisions and sacrifices they have had to make; and what has worked for them as ambitious professionals.
Andrea Djan-Krofa, Head of Africa for the Women in Marketing network commented: "WiM Africa are delighted to be partnering with the Unstereotype Alliance South Africa Chapter on this, the first of the Real Talk conversations. These open and honest conversations are important conversations to have – not only to help women who aspire to senior roles, but also to help business leaders in understanding the journey and challenges some of their most senior employees face. Particularly in those industries that are typically male dominated. The hope is that in doing so, they take measures to make their organisations a more even landscape for all their employees to navigate.”
Full details of the Real Talk – Tech Edition panel discussion and how to book can be found here: http://www.wimafrica.com/event/the-real-talk-series-tech-edition
Did you attend the event? If so, we would love to hear your key takeaways, how the panellists inspired you and any feedback so that we can provide more value through future WiM Africa events. Comment here or email hello@wimafrica.com.
If you were not able to attend the event, watch the replay here.
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